Henderson Group, SPAR distributor in Northern Ireland, said it raised over £49,000 for Action Mental Health (AMH) last year, while bringing even more wellbeing services and awareness to its workforce.
The group, which employs over 5,000 people, announced its partnership with the local charity in 2022, and has since raised over £94,000, with every penny going towards the organisation’s vital work in promoting positive mental health and wellbeing across Northern Ireland.
Since establishing the partnership, AMH has continued to respond to growing demand for mental health services across Northern Ireland through their range of mental health recovery and counselling services, alongside innovative new resilience building programmes for schools, community groups and workplaces.
“Support from our corporate partners like Henderson Group enable us to make a real difference to people’s lives who are seeking support for their mental wellbeing. This fantastic contribution allows us to provide even more vital support across the region, transforming lives and promoting positive wellbeing, particularly through our recently launched ‘I am Someone’ campaign,” Jane Robertson, fundraising and engagement coordinator at Action Mental Health, said.
“‘I am Someone’ seeks to remind us of the likelihood that we all know someone who has faced or will face mental health challenges in their lifetime. Behind the statistics, there is a person with an important story to tell.”
Bronagh Luke from Henderson Group added: “We were delighted to be part of the I am Someone launch and to hear directly from those who have been utilising the services and facilities available from Action Mental Health, which our donations contribute towards.
“Our entire workforce has access to support from Action Mental Health, including personal development programmes and activities to support positive mental health and emotional wellbeing. We also implemented many activities throughout the year to give back to the charity, including a week-long series of events to mark World Mental Health Day in October.”
During the week, the business invited the charity’s Antrim Services clients, to sell their handmade festive gifts during a Christmas craft sale for staff.
Employees could also avail from a seated yoga webinar, free acupressure massage or reflexology appointments along with self-care webinars facilitated by Annette Kelly who is a personal development and performance coach. Action Mental Health delivered a Steps to Wellbeing webinar.
Bronagh continued: “We also gave a nod to Action Mental Health by wearing purple on World Mental Health Day (10th October), and held a raffle for a wellness hamper, while our Henderson Retail stores also marked the day getting involved in lots of fundraising activities, which raised over £11,000 alone.”
Henderson Group’s partnership with Action Mental Health will continue throughout 2025.
Scottish convenience chain Greens Retail has raised an incredible £5,000 in support of Fife Gingerbread’s Heat & Eat appeal through Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally (MADL) charity.
The funds contributed significantly to the charity exceeding its £20,000 fundraising target, enabling it to provide critical support to families across Fife facing hardship.
The Heat & Eat Appeal aims to ensure children and young people live in safe, warm, and healthy homes during the challenging winter months, especially as the rising cost of living places added pressure on many households.
Greens Retail embraced this vital cause with fundraising initiatives in six of its Fife stores, where purchases of Co-op branded products contributed directly to the MADL fund. The campaign also received a boost from MADL’s Winter Warmer Award, which added an additional £1,000 to the total.
To further rally community support, Greens Retail produced a heartwarming Christmas advert featuring Fife Gingerbread’s mascot, Gingey, alongside local children.
The video, which highlighted the appeal, was viewed over 15,000 times on social media, garnering widespread engagement and support from the community.
Linsey Proctor, PR and Fundraising Representative at Fife Gingerbread, said: “We are blown away by the generosity of Greens Retail and their customers.
"This donation will directly fund emergency warmth and meals for vulnerable families. Greens Retail has shown the true power of businesses making a difference in their communities.”
Caroline Cunningham, Area Manager for Greens Retail, shared: “Our stores are at the heart of their communities, and this campaign demonstrated how we can come together to support a cause that truly matters. The impact of this donation is incredibly rewarding, and I’m proud of our team and customers for their generosity.”
Alexandra Copeland, Group Operations Director at Glenshire Group, added: “This achievement reflects the shared commitment of Greens Retail and Nisa’s MADL charity to community engagement. The passion and dedication behind this campaign exemplify how we can create meaningful change together.”
Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, today announced that National Lottery players who play in shops will be able to opt to have their prizes paid directly into their bank accounts for the first time.
In a partnership with payments provider, Bottomline, Allwyn has created a quick, easy online claim process that will see retail prizes of between £500.01 and £50,000 paid more quickly than ever before.
The new solution is the latest development in the revised claims process that Allwyn had to introduce when it took over as National Lottery operator in 2024. This was following the Post Office's decision to no longer pay National Lottery retail prizes between £500.01 and £50,000 (called ‘mid-tier prizes’).
Last year, Allwyn continued to make upgrades to the process and has now directly paid out over 45,000 mid-tier prizes to in-store players – amounting to over £50 million in prize money.
This new enhancement isn’t just good news for players, but it will also significantly reduce administration and postage costs – as Allwyn will no longer need to prepare and post thousands of cheques. This cost efficiency will see more money going to National Lottery-funded Good Causes.
With the new payment solution, retail players can go to claims.national-lottery.co.uk, enter their email address and then fill in an easy-to-complete claim form – this asks for the player’s details, some details about the winning ticket, and prompts the player to upload an image of the ticket. If a winner has any questions during the process or needs some additional support, they can call Allwyn's Customer Care Team who will be happy to help.
At this point, the default option will be for the prize to be paid directly into the player’s bank account, although they can still choose to be paid by cheque if that is their preference – which has been standard payment method for these up until now (including when the Post Office was still paying these prizes).
Once the claim form has been submitted and processed, the player will receive an email with a unique, secure link for them to submit their bank account number and sort code. The system will then automatically check that the name on the account matches the name entered on the prize claim form. As soon as this information has been successfully submitted by the player, the payment will be processed and will be paid directly into the player’s bank account within 24 hours*.
“We’re delighted to introduce this completely new payment solution, which will see, for the first time, people who play The National Lottery in shops be able to have their prizes paid directly into their bank accounts,” said Allwyn’s Operations Director, Jenny Blogg.
“Not only will this see these prizes paid faster than ever before, but it also drastically cuts down on administration and postage costs. This cost efficiency will see more money going to the Good Causes that The National Lottery supports and see prize money in players’ pockets in record time – so it really is a win-win.”
*If the bank payment details are filled in on a working day (Monday to Friday), the payment will be paid within 24 hours. If bank payment details are completed on a weekend, payment may take 2-3 days to clear.
Natural cheese slice brand Leerdammer has launched a new initiative, "Talk It Out", in support of YoungMinds. The new mental health programme will use comedy to help parents and young people to get talking and have better conversations about mental wellbeing.
Research shows that three-quarters (76 per cent) of parents said their children’s mental health had deteriorated while waiting for support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
To launch Talk It Out, award-winning Bristol born comedian Stuart Goldsmith performed a one-off special stand-up gig at the Bristol Grammar School on 13 January. Encouraging students and parents to tackle talking about mental wellbeing through humour, attendees were also signposted to the expert support, advice and guidance that YoungMinds offers.
Lactalis UK & Ireland hope to roll the initiative out across the UK later in the year, to reach and support even more families in need.
“We have developed an initiative that we hope will really have a positive impact on young people’s mental health but also, importantly, raise awareness of YoungMinds so they can guide parents and their children towards accessing better mental health care," said Heloise Le Norcy-Trott, Group Marketing Director at Lactalis UK & Ireland.
"Leerdammer is an uplifting and comedic brand, so we were motivated to tap into our unique personality with a partnership that would really make a difference among local communities. It’s clear that talking about mental health can be hard, but humour is a great way of initiating a conversation about difficult subjects which are often avoided by families. We hope by using Leedammer to support YoungMinds – and by bringing comedians in to speak to the students – they and their parents will see how essential it is to start these conversations and realise there is support out there available to them.
“We are piloting the idea this month, then aiming to roll this out across the UK later in the year so we can reach and support even more families in need. We are always looking at ways to strengthen our positive impact across the UK and are grateful to Stuart Goldsmith for taking time to help spread the word.”
Vernon Samuels, Parent Engagement Officer at YoungMinds said: “We are delighted that Leerdammer is bringing attention to YoungMinds services in this way and helping to open up the conversation about children and young people’s mental health through “Talk it Out”. Our Parent Engagement Officer in Bristol will be providing community outreach and parent / carer engagement sessions to create a safe space for parents to get peer support, and this initiative will help us reach more people who need YoungMinds’ support.”
GroceryAid has announced that it will assume responsibility for the welfare funds of the former Tobacco Trade Benevolent Association from early February.
Currently overseen by the Tobacco Pipe Makers & Tobacco Trade Benevolent Fund, GroceryAid said the move will extend the charity’s reach and give current as well as former tobacco industry workers, including those from manufacturing, wholesale and retail, access to its wide range of welfare services.
“Extending our reach to include employees and former employees in the tobacco industry reflects our broader vision of supporting workers across the entire spectrum of the UK grocery sector. We want to ensure no individual is left without access to critical support when they need it most,” Kieran Hemsworth, CEO of GroceryAid, commented.
“We are committed to honouring the legacy of the Tobacco Trade Benevolent Association while bringing our more comprehensive support services to their beneficiaries.”
Jonathan Fell, chair of the Tobacco Pipe Makers & Tobacco Trade Benevolent Fund, added: “We are excited about the opportunity to provide enhanced support to our beneficiaries. GroceryAid’s comprehensive support services, including financial grants, 24/7 helpline service and counselling on a range of topics, will ensure that individuals we have supported continue to receive the care and assistance they need. Our Benevolent Fund looks forward to continuing to support a range of good causes from our General Fund.”
The transfer of responsibilities is expected to apply from 6 February this year. For more information about GroceryAid and the support available, visit groceryaid.org.uk.
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Nisa retailer Mike Sohal delivers prepared meals for the vulnerable in Warrington
Three Nisa retailers have joined forces to bring much-needed relief to their local communities in the aftermath of severe flooding over the New Year period.
Each retailer has donated £1,000 through Making a Difference Locally’s (MADL) ‘A Moment in Time’ initiative, ensuring a total of £3,000 goes directly to supporting those impacted by the floods.
Mike Sohal and Mr. and Mrs. Kuldeep Dhillon, Nisa retailers in Warrington, and Tapan Chotai, a Nisa retailer in Stockport, have each taken extraordinary steps to assist their communities.
The Warrington floods caused significant damage, particularly in the Bewsey area, leaving many families displaced and without power. Tapan’s Stockport store was directly hit by the flooding, while Mike and Kuldeep took action by cooking meals at their local Gurdwara to provide food for those affected in Warrington.
Nisa Local store in Bramhall
“The impact of the floods on our communities has been horrifying to watch so I’m delighted to be able to assist local residents who are finding it tough at the moment through no fault of their own,” Sohal said.
“I’d like to thank the MADL team at Nisa for their swift support and enabling us to get some much-needed funding to our communities.”
The funds donated by the retailers were made possible through MADL’s ‘A Moment in Time’ initiative, introduced in 2021. This unique programme enables Nisa retailers to apply for additional, time-sensitive funding to support urgent local causes when their store’s own MADL funds may not be sufficient. ‘A Moment in Time’ aims to empower retailers to respond quickly to crises and make a tangible impact in their communities.
Sarah Hall, MP for Warrington South, has also been instrumental in rallying support for the affected residents. She has launched a community fundraising campaign, the New Year Floods Appeal, which provides vital aid to those displaced by the floods. The campaign seeks to offer immediate relief, including food, supplies, and essential household items, as well as support for repairing and restoring damaged properties. Hall has called on local businesses to contribute through donations, matching funds, or in-kind support to maximise the impact.
The New Year Floods Appeal remains open for donations, welcoming contributions from individuals and businesses alike. Those wishing to support the residents of Warrington can donate via the official page: www.gofundme.com/f/NewYearFloods.